Alkali Chloride Molten Salt Corrosion Testing Using a Rotating Cylindrical Electrode

Abstract

Next generation nuclear reactors utilizing alkali chloride molten salts are currently under development. These reactors operate at a higher temperature and more efficient than current nuclear reactors. Molten salt reactors necessitate research to develop knowledge of corrosion of the structural materials for this application. Static corrosion tests may fail to account for the effects that fluid flow may have on corrosion and molten salt flow loops can be complex and uneconomical. A rotating cylindrical electrode (RCE) can simulate the effects of flow on the corrosion of structural components and are more elementary than a flow loop. We have developed a rotating cylindrical electrode apparatus to study the effects flow may have on corrosion of structural materials in alkali chloride molten salts using accelerated electrochemical corrosion testing techniques and surface characterization techniques which are then compared to static alkali chloride molten salt corrosion. Results and analysis of the effects of fluid flow on accelerated electrochemical corrosion of structural materials will be presented.Acknowledgement:This research is being performed using funding received from the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's Nuclear Energy University Programs under awards DE-NE0008889 and DE-NE0008236, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) under contract 31310018M0032. Dr. Kenny Osborne and Ms. Nancy Hebron-Isreal serve as the program managers for the DOE and NRC awards, respectively.